New marquee expected in next ‘couple of years,’ says Cottonwood branch manager

To better represent its “ever-growing bank,” Country Bank will eventually be known as State Bank of Arizona, said Mark Tufte, vice president and manager of the Cottonwood branch.

“I like the new name and the new logo,” Tufte said. “And I look forward to all the opportunities that are coming.”

Immediately, however, the Cottonwood branch is known as Country Bank, a Division of State Bank of Arizona, Tufte said, though the branch won’t have new signage for another “couple of years.”

The Prescott Daily Courier reported in a Nov. 3 story that Country Bank merged with Mohave State Bank in July 2016. Country Bank, Tufte said, “was not bought out.”

“As we grow, we wanted a name that helps us serve multiple markets, rather than one community,” Tufte said.

In May, the company opened its first Phoenix location in the Camelback Commons building in the Camelback/Biltmore neighborhood. That location, a loan production office located at 4742 N. 24th St., became a “full-fledged branch earlier this month,” Tufte said.

“Though we are a small community bank, we are expanding, we are growing,” Tufte said.

Tufte said that one of the reasons for the name change is the company’s desire to “expand into other markets in Arizona.”

“Customers would be able to bank with us in other places across the state,” he said.

With banks in Yavapai County, Mojave County and now Maricopa County, State Bank of Arizona “hope[s] to add another branch in another market in the next year,” Tufte said.

But the business model will not change, The Daily Courier reported.

“We’re remaining community focused with professional bankers who are actively engaged in each of our markets,” Brian Riley, President and CEO of State Bank of Arizona told The Daily Courier. “The banking landscape is changing, with fewer community banks and larger banks closing offices. More than ever, there is a need for flexible business financing and timely decision making, and as a locally-owned bank, that is what we provide.”

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